


Doki Doki Fireside

by Elyos



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel), Fanfic - Fandom, One-shot - Fandom, Salvato, ddlc, short - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 13:14:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13881588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elyos/pseuds/Elyos
Summary: The Literature Club decides to hold an overnight camping trip in the woods together. They have fun scaring each other with campfire stories.





	1. Chapter 1

So this is it. Summer. Humidity. Nightfall. The white glow of the moon above illuminates the treetops, where below you hold your place at the side of the campfire. You look to your left and catch the fleeting glimpse of your friend, Sayori, who's curled up in her chair, shivering with excitement. Next to Sayori sits Natsuki, who holds a thin skewer loosely in her hand as she prods the campfire with her marshmallow. Next to Natsuki, sitting directly across from you, on the other side of the campfire, is Monika. The beauty in her eyes is nothing but the dance and flicker of the firelight, as she wears an expression that foretells grim lit glory to come. Finally, in the chair to your right: Yuri, who appears taken with the flames. Into the fire she gazes, hypnotized by its wilderness. Nothing exists in the heart of the flames but purity in its highest form.

Monika is the one to set the night into motion, when she parts her lips and speaks. "Who wants to go first?"

You all look at each other. For a moment, no one answers except the campfire, with a snap and pop. Natsuki takes a bite of her roasted marshmallow. Yuri is smiling shyly. Suddenly, Sayori's hand shoots up.

"Sayori?" says Monika. "You have a story for us?"

"Yeah," Sayori giggles. "This one's gonna be super scary!"

Natsuki hides her eye-rolling smirk behind her half-eaten marshmallow.

The fire pops again. Monika says, "Alright. Go ahead, Sayori."

Sayori slams the soles of her sandals into the ground and grips her chair between her knees. The level of excitement she's expressing disrupts any potential effect her fireside tale may have. More so when she hams up and drops the pitch of her voice in an attempt to sound eerie.

"It happened last week... on a night just like this one... I was riding my bicycle, and the sun was starting to set. I decided to ride past our school, not thinking about the consequences. I rode behind the building, and what I saw? What I saw... I... I told myself I'd never tell anyone about it..."

The campfire sways on cue. Sayori continues her story.

"It was getting dark. Oh, so dark. And the dumpster lid just fell shut. I stopped to look, and no one was there. I looked around, and I didn't see anyone in sight. When I got curious, I rode my bike just a little bit closer to the dumpster. And I stopped."

Sayori pauses her story dramatically, allowing the campfire to get a snap-pop-crack-snap in before carrying on.

"I knew something was wrong, but I kept moving closer to the dumpster, anyway. I didn't want to, but I had no choice. Something inside was calling me closer... and closer... and closer..."

The woods hold their breath.

"I reached out... and I touched the corner of the dumpster lid... with my fingertips... and when I barely lifted it? I saw..."

You catch Natsuki leaning forward in suspense, with her skewer resting across her lap, the remnants of her marshmallow coloring the end.

"...a bloody hand... limp... dead... as if it died trying to pull itself out of the dumpster... I wanted to scream... but my voice wouldn't come out... and I lifted the lid just a little further... and I saw the arm that the hand was attached to... and the body behind it... and they had a noose around their neck..."

Natsuki's jaw drops.

"...and the words... 'Help me'... carved into their body... help me... help me... help me... help me..."

"Sayori?" Natsuki gulps.

"...help me... help me... help me... please, God... help me..."

"Sayori!" Natsuki's on her feet now, hands balled into fists. "S-snap out of it!"

"...help... me... please... God... help..."

You're not having this. You reach over and deliver a gentle bop on the top of Sayori's head.

"Whoa—!" Sayori says, breaking character. Massaging the spot where you batted her, she looks at you and breaks down into a fit of giggles. The tension is now shattered. You didn't expect Sayori to pull off something like that. Monika and Yuri are both grinning. They felt it. Natsuki stammers for a moment and falls back into her seat.

"I was not scared! Shut up!"

"No one said you were," Monika points out, drawing an Urk! from Natsuki. "I'm impressed, Sayori! I didn't think you had it in you to pull off a story like that. Well done!"

Your friend scratches the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oh, y'know, I have an overactive imagination ♪"

"That trance you went into at the end made it surreal," Yuri says. "You have a knack for this."

"Thanks ♥"

"Let's go around the campfire," Monika says. "Natsuki? Do you have a scary story for us?"

"Oh, yeah!" Natsuki says, psyching herself up for what she believes will be the best horror story ever. "But before I tell you my story, I want you guys to know something."

What's that? you say.

"I don't know who else to talk to about this, but I figured, 'Hey, we're out on a camping trip, so what the hell, right?' I'm worried about my friend. None of you know her because she goes to a different school, but she visits my house pretty regularly. I, um, need some advice.

"You see, my friend's been abused ever since she was a little girl. Her parents are always out of town, and she's always being left with this horrid babysitter: her aunt. For years, her aunt has been yelling at her, cussing at her, spanking her when she didn't do anything wrong, even when she got older, and worse things I don't want to say. Well, my friend, she... told me the other night that she can't take it anymore. Even now, years later, her aunt is a bigger part of her life than her own mom and dad. And her aunt's only gotten crazier over the years. I've stayed up with her late into the night, letting her cry on my shoulder. I wanted to let her sleep in my room, but my dad... doesn't like company. She told me the other night, at, like, two o'clock in the morning, that she was going to kill her aunt. She told me that, before walking back home in pitch black night! I wasn't going to tell anyone this, but I couldn't take it anymore."

No one says a word.

"And... last night... I snuck out and went to my friend's house. I knew my dad was gonna be pissed off at me for it, but I had to check on my friend. He doesn't even know about her. When I got to her house, the front door was wide open, and the lights were on. I thought everything was alright. I wasn't going to go up to the door, but as I started to turn away, I heard my friend scream from inside the house. I ran up the porch and went in. As soon as I found the kitchen, I screamed, too."

Natsuki's eyes drift to the campfire.

"Her aunt was dead. Her clothes were torn off, and all her hair was pulled out, or... scalped. Her arms and legs were broken. She was there on her back, with this... lifeless stare. She bled from the nose, her mouth, her ears... there was this knife laying on the floor next to her. The tip of it was bloodied, and that's when I noticed the shape of an eye carved into her forehead.

"My friend was nowhere to be seen. She's been missing since last night." Natsuki looks around at everyone and says, "So, what should I do about this?"

You want to say, Call the police, dumbass! but before anyone can part their lips to give advice, Natsuki grins. "That's my story! Did you like it? Was it scary?! You believed me, didn't you?!"

Monika lets out a sigh, probably of relief. "Yes, you tricked us. Well, me, at least. Good job!"

Natsuki throws her head back and laughs triumphantly. "As if I have a murderer for a friend! Ha ha ha!"

Yuri giggles. "It was quite the story, Natsuki. Here I thought you only liked cute things."

That wipes the smugness off Natsuki's face in a hurry. Monika keeps the ball rolling, though.

"I think I should go last," Monika says. "I'm not nervous, or anything, but I already know what story I'm going to tell, and it'd be told best at the end. So, Yuri? Would you like to tell a story next?"

"Uuu... alright," Yuri says. Sitting there the way she does, prodding the tips of her index fingers together, you can't deny the subtle cuteness of the purple-haired bundle of elegance. You can feel an aura emanating from Yuri as she scans the depths of her mind for a story to tell. She brings a hand to her chest, takes a deep breath, and exhales, clearing out her brain.

"I've been thinking a lot about mathematics lately," says Yuri, as she stares wistfully into the body of the campfire. "There's something called the stochastic process, which I've enjoyed reading about immensely. It seems difficult to understand at first, but once you put it into perspective, you realize it's something we all use in our day to day lives, without the complexities of the process itself. Take chance, for example. The stochastic process tracks chance. What are the chances of this or that happening? What are the chances something could break down, and what, still, are the chances that that thing which broke down can become something more, or will break down further? It sounds a lot like people, doesn't it?"

Yuri looks directly at you when she asks that. You almost respond, but what were you going to say?

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to say that. It's—it's an interesting read! You all should give it a look over for yourselves. I'm afraid I haven't read enough about it to tell you guys what I just told you. Sorry." Yuri collects herself. "So, yes, a story. Uuu... well, this isn't really a story so much as it's a thought, but have you ever wondered what happens when you're not looking? I think about that all the time. It reminds me of that question we've all heard before. When a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Scientifically, the answer should be yes, it does make a sound—a loud one, if the shape and mass of the tree is to be taken into account. But how do scientists know that? They would likely leave a tracker of some kind in the forest, but that leaves the question: how would they know if a tree's about to fall, if they haven't been there?

"Sorry! I'm getting off track! Ahem. What happens when you're not looking? What happens when no one is looking? If, say, we were all to turn our backs on the campfire and close our eyes, what would happen? Would we all sit here quietly with our eyes closed, as the fire burns merrily into the night? Or would there be something more? What if we're being watched? What if we closed our eyes, and our campfire turned a different color? What if every time we turn our backs, some part of the world ends?

"How much do we even know about reality? There've been times in my life I started to lose touch with reality, that nothing I do, and nothing I am, is real. Look at us. There are only five of us on a planet with more than six billion people of all shapes and sizes, and the planet is so small compared to other planets. Yet everything we do, we place in higher regard than the truth of all existence. Earth is nothing but a grain of sand compared to the sun. The sun is nothing but a pebble compared to another star. That star is a speck of dirt compared to its neighboring star. And that neighboring star barely lights the graph when shown its place in our solar system. Our solar system, then, is just a small splotch upon the face of our galaxy. Our galaxy is is nothing but a small dot compared to our neighboring galaxy. And ours and that galaxy is unseen as far as the eye is concerned, because we're just part of a neighborhood of galaxies somewhere in our cluster."

Yuri sighs. "I'm sorry. I guess my story's only frightening if you put it into perspective. I... guess that's it for mine. Sorry!"

That's a lot to think about, you tell yourself. The things Yuri talked about just now has the potential to blow someone's mind and make them question things.

"Ahaha, it's okay, Yuri," Monika says. "I think your tangent passes as a proper fireside story. I can see revelations like that causing people to question reality itself. Ahaha. How about you?" Monika is addressing you now. "Do you have a story you want to tell?"

Yes.

You don't really know any good stories that'll get under their skin, but since you're all here out in the wilderness, away from civilization, getting under their skin shouldn't be much of a challenge. So you begin your fireside tale...

"I met you all twice before," you say. "I remember your names and your faces, from the first time we saw each other. The first time I spoke to you, I was Sayori's friend. She came running up to me as I was walking to school. She lured me into joining the Literature Club, where I met you, Monika, and Yuri, and Natsuki. I won't lie, I was drawn by the treats Natsuki made."

"Wait, when did I—" Natsuki starts to say. She realizes she's being rude, so she shuts up and lets you continue your story.

"The cupcakes were delicious. I still remember when Sayori snuck up behind you, Natsuki, and bit off a piece of your treat from over your shoulder."

"Eh-heh... I did that?" Sayori says in genuine confusion.

"I remember when Monika had us go home and write poems, and how we shared them the next day. We did this for a while..."

The others are looking at you as though you've lost your mind. Except Monika. The look on her face sends a chill up your spine. Catching the glint in her eye, and the strange smile creeping onto her face, you hurry your story along.

"And... and then things started to get really weird. Sayori, you were depressed. I can't remember if I fell in love with you or if I didn't."

The girls (except Monika) gasp. Sayori's face blooms into a loving shade of red. "I—I—whaaa?" she manages.

"But then I thought I fell in love with Yuri," you continue, causing Yuri to reel in her seat.

"Uuu... I... um... er..."

"And then I fell for you, Natsuki."

"Guh—! W-well, um, I—! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Monika's smile grows.

"And—and then... M-Monika... I... think I fell for her, too—"

,,˙doʇS,, Monika says, her speech turning upside-down. ,,˙spuǝ ʎɹoʇs ǝɥʇ ǝɹǝɥʍ sᴉ sᴉɥ┴,,


	2. Monika's Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ¡ʇsɐl ʇɐ ɹǝɥʇǝƃoʇ 'ʇsɐl ʇɐ ɹǝɥʇǝƃo┴

So this is it. Summer. Humidity. Nightfall. The white glow of the moon above illuminates the treetops, where below you hold your place at the side of the campfire. You look to your left and catch the fleeting glimpse of your absolutely nobody. The chair's empty, and you don't even know who's supposed to be sitting there. Next to the empty chair sits another empty chair, whose occupant has gone missing. Next to that empty chair, sitting directly across from you, on the other side of the campfire, is Monika. The beauty in her eyes is nothing short of bewitching, as she wears an expression that foretells grim lit glory to come. Finally, in the chair to your right: no one, and there's no trace of anybody there to have ever existed.

Monika is the one to set the night into motion, when she parts her lips and speaks. "Now I finally have you to myself."


End file.
